Whitney Houston 1963-2012

Whitney Houston, who ruled as pop music's queen until her majestic voice and regal image were ravaged by drug use, erratic behavior and a tumultuous marriage to singer Bobby Brown, died Saturday, Feb. 11, 2012. She was 48.

Houston's publicist, Kristen Foster, announced that the singer had died.

At her peak, Houston the golden girl of the music industry. From the middle 1980s to the late 1990s, she was one of the world's best-selling artists. She wowed audiences with effortless, powerful, and peerless vocals that were rooted in the black church but made palatable to the masses with a pop sheen.

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Singer Whitney Houston is seen with music producer Clive Davis in 1983, shortly after signing a contract with Arista Records.

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Singer Whitney Houston belts out a song during her segment of a benefit concert at Boston Garden, May 10, 1986.

Whitney Houston waves to the crowd at the 36th Annual Grammy Awards in New York March 1, 1994, after she was honored for Record of the Year ("I'll Always Love You") and Album of the Year (the soundtrack from the film "The Bodyguard"). At rear is her producer David Foster, who shared the honors with her.

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Whitney Houston performs during the 21st American Music Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, Ca., Feb. 7, 1994. Houston won a total of eight awards at the presentation.

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Whitney Houston performs before a sellout crowd at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., during closing ceremonies for the final match that pits Italy against Brazil in the World Cup on July 17, 1994.

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Whitney Houston performs during the closing ceremony of the World Cup Final at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, Calif., July 17, 1994.

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Singer Whitney Houston performs for the Black Entertainment Televisions's awards gala Friday night, Sept. 13, 1996, in Washington. Houston received the BET's second annual Walk of Fame award at the fund-raiser for the United Negro College Fund.

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Whitney Houston starred in the dramedy "The Preacher's Wife" (1996). Its soundtrack album became the best-selling gospel album of all time.

Brandy Norwood and Whitney Houston starred in an update of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical "Cinderella" (1997).

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Whitney Houston sings at the ceremony dedicating the new Arthur Ashe Stadium at the USTA National Tennis Center at the US Open Aug. 25, 1997, in Flushing Meadows, N.Y.

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Singer Whitney Houston, left, celebrates her win at the American Music Awards with her mother, Cissy, and brother, Gary, at the Shrine Auditorium, in Los Angeles on Jan. 26, 1998.

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Whitney Houston looks over her shoulder as her husband Bobby Brown looks to her at the premiere of "The Wonderful World of Disney" movie "Cinderella," at Mann's Chinese Theater in Los Angeles on Oct. 13, 1997.

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Entertainer Bobby Brown exchanges a kiss with his wife, singer Whitney Houston, in a Broward County courtroom prior to closing arguments in his DUI trial, Jan. 29, 1998, in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla. In August 1996, Brown crashed a Porsche leased to his wife, in Hollywood, Fla., just south of Fort Lauderdale. Four months later, police filed drunken driving charges against Brown after obtaining a subpoena for Brown's medical records. Brown was convicted and ordered to serve five days in jail and attend drug and alcohol treatment.

In 2000 Brown was sentenced to 75 days in jail for two parole violations.

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Former World Heavyweight Boxing Champion Muhammad Ali is greeted by singer Whitney Houston as he arrives on stage at New York's Radio City Music Hall to accept a GQ "Men of the Year" Award, Oct. 21, 1998.

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Mariah Carey, left, and Whitney Houston present the award for Best Male Video during the MTV Video Music Awards, in Universal City, Calif., on Sept. 10, 1998.

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Singer Whitney Houston, her husband, singer Bobby Brown and their daughter Christina, arrive Oct. 11, 1998, at the International Achievement in Arts Awards in Beverly Hills.

Chaka Khan and Whitney Houston perform during the finale of "VH1 Divas Live '99" at the Beacon Theatre in New York on April 13, 1999. Other performers include Brandy, Tina Turner, and Cher, with a special performance by Elton John.

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Singers Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston perform "When You Believe" during the 71st Academy Awards March 21, 1999, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion.

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Singer Whitney Houston performs in a concert in the Hallenstadion in Zurich, Switzerland, Sept. 1, 1999.

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Singer Whitney Houston, left, smiles at her husband, singer Bobby Brown, during a court hearing in Dekalb County State Court in Decatur, Ga., on Nov. 25, 2002.

Whitney Houston performs at the O2 Arena on April 25, 2010, in London, England.

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Whitney Houston receives the International Artist Award onstage at the 37th Annual American Music Awards in Los Angeles on Nov. 22, 2009.

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American singer Whitney Houston performs live during a concert at the O2 World on May 12, 2010, in Berlin, Germany. The concert is part of the 2010 Nothing But Love tour to promote the album "I Look To You."

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Whitney Houston accepts an award at the Warner Theatre during the 2010 BET Hip Hop Honors in Washington on Jan. 16, 2010.

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Whitney Houston and her daughter Bobbi Kristina Brown arrive at the 2011 Pre-GRAMMY Gala and Salute To Industry Icons Honoring David Geffen at Beverly Hilton on Feb. 12, 2011, in Beverly Hills, Calif.

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Singer Whitney Houston performs onstage during the 2011 Pre-Grammy Gala & Salute to Industry Icons, with Clive Davis Honoring David Geffen at the Beverly Hilton on Feb. 12, 2011. The event, on the eve of the 53rd Annual GRAMMY, honored Geffen Records founder and DreamWorks SKG co-founder David Geffen who was presented with the President's Merit Award in recognition of his significant contributions to the music industry and the impact his efforts have had on music and the business of music.

Media mobs a coroner's van as it leaves the Beverly Hilton Hotel, early Sunday, Feb. 12, 2012, in Beverly Hills, Calif., where Whitney Houston was pronounced dead in a hotel room.

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Flowers and candles are left by fans of U.S. singer Whitney Houston on the street outside the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California late on Feb. 11, 2012. Houston was found dead at the Beverly Hilton hotel earlier in the day on the eve of the 54th Grammy Awards show, triggering shock and a wave of tributes as music stars gathered for the annual awards show.